NA approves delay to Penal Code 2015

Update:
July, 01/2016 - 11:39

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The National Assembly has issued a resolution to delay the implementation of the Penal Code 2015 and several other laws until the law on the amendments and supplements to a number of articles in the code becomes effective. — VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn

HÀ NỘI — The National Assembly has issued a resolution to delay the implementation of the Penal Code 2015 and several other laws until the law on the amendments and supplements to a number of articles in the code becomes effective, announced the President’s Office during a press conference in Hà Nội yesterday.

Under the resolution, the effectiveness of the Criminal Procedure Code No 101/2015/QH13, the Law on the Organisation of Criminal Investigation Agencies No 99/2015/QH13, and the Law on the Implementation of Custody and Temporary Detention No 94/2015/QH13 will be postponed until the same time.

Meanwhile, the bill on the amendments and supplements to some articles of the Penal Code 2015 will be added to the laws and ordinances building programme 2016, stated the resolution which took effect yesterday.

The Penal Code No 100/2015/QH13, adopted by the National Assembly on November 27, 2015, was set to take effect today.

However, some of its articles that are advantageous to offenders will still be applied.

Specifically, from today, regulations benefiting offenders stated in item 3, Article 7 of the Penal Code No 100/2015/QH13, and point b, item 1 of Article 1 of Decree 109/2015/QH13 on the implementation of the Penal Code will be enforced, together with item 2 of Article 1 and other regulations in offenders’ favour in the decree.

At the same time, the revised Penal Code 1999, the revised Criminal Procedure Code 2003, the revised Ordinance on the Organisation of Criminal Investigation Agencies 2004 and the revised Decree on the Implementation of Custody and Temporary Detention 1998 remain valid until the law on the amendments and supplements to a number of articles of the code become effective.

During the conference, Deputy Minister of Justice Đinh Trung Tụng, said that errors in the Criminal Procedure Code No 101/2015/QH13 are mostly technical ones, but they affect criminal prevention and combat.

Delay for the sake of the people

The delay of the enforcement of the 2015 Penal Code just a few days before the effective date of July 1, 2016 due to lawmaking errors is said to be a brave decision showing the National Assembly’s responsibility towards the nation.

The 2015 Penal Code is among nearly 20 laws and codes set to take effect today.

It was amended over two years and comprises an array of new regulations that reflect the Party’s guidelines and viewpoints, such as reducing the number of crimes punishable by the death penalty, increasing educational measures for juvenile delinquents to replace criminal sanctions, ensuring the rights of the accused, protecting legitimate rights and interests of victims, and avoid criminalising economic and civil relations.

However, the NA Standing Committee received the opinions of many experts, organisations and press agencies about the inaccurate and insufficient implementation of crime-related policies in the code.

On Wednesday, only three days before of the effective date, the Committee convened a special meeting with heads of the NA deputy delegations nationwide to consider postponing the execution of the Penal Code due to serious lawmaking mistakes.

Some parliamentarians and experts attributed the shortcomings to flawed lawmaking techniques, the short duration for the code review and approval, and the large scope that the code covers.

As pursuant to relevant regulations, the NA has to open an unusual plenum to issue a resolution on the Penal Code enforcement delay. Instead, the NA Standing Committee sent ballots to each deputy to ask for their opinions. As a majority of the parliamentarians approved the delay until the shortcomings are fixed, a resolution on the matter was issued.

The Committee’s response in this case is assessed as a timely and the most feasible solution to prevent the Penal Code’s flaws from harming people and businesses’ interests, as there were only a few days left until the effective date.

The delay of the code enforcement also leads to the postponement of the implementation of relevant laws such as the Criminal Procedure Code, the Law on Organisation of Criminal Investigation Agencies, and the Law on Custody and Temporary Detention.

This is the second time the NA has revised a law before it takes effect. The first was Article 60 of the Law on Social Insurance. — VNS